How To Design Effective Nonprofit Job Ads

Plenty of for-profit and nonprofit companies alike post poorly designed job ads every day, partly because they aren’t aware of the ads’ potential impact as part of an overall recruitment strategy. These commonly seen postings often follow outdated formats and top-down approaches that display indifference toward their target audience, managing to be painfully uninteresting at best, and at worst, not worth the frustration they cause for discerning applicants. As a result, such companies are likely to bring in smaller pools of equally indifferent candidates.  

But your organization isn’t common, and it’s anything but indifferent. You run a lean, high-performing nonprofit, and you need unicorns: highly skilled, adaptable, and passionate people who are worth their weight in gold, but will work for a modest salary because they value job satisfaction most. To attract unicorns, as the legend goes, you must be pure of heart, and your nonprofit job ads will need to reflect that. Here’s how to write a proper job ad that will charm the rarest steeds in the market.  

Avoid the Tone-Deaf, Top-Down Corporate Approach

Arguably the biggest mistake companies make in writing a job ad is framing it as a stark laundry list of their own requirements and preferences—and often, that list is far too long, vague, or complex. The hiring process is a two-way street: you are hoping to begin a relationship that’s the best possible fit for both parties. Naturally, that involves being direct about your organization’s needs, but not to the point of ignoring your applicants’. Your job posting should be as much about winning over job candidates as it is about establishing the criteria for winning the job.

Tips for Writing Nonprofit Job Ads That Get Unicorns

Fortunately, you don’t need to go on an epic quest for any costly magical elixirs to draw great candidates out of the forest. Here are some straightforward tips for getting those unicorns to approach.

Start With a Compelling Opener

Your tone can and should be professional, but it should still speak to like one-of-a-kind minds who truly want to make a meaningful difference in the world. In general terms, describe how candidates will be empowered to do this with your organization. Highlight the qualities of the team they’ll work with, the best aspects of your work environment, the challenges they’ll have the chance to tackle, and the rewarding opportunities they’ll gain. Don’t forget to mention opportunities for growth!

Show; Don’t Just Tell 

All-text job ads—even those with properly formatted bullet points—can feel like a brick wall to some applicants, especially if they rely too heavily on industry buzzwords or bland phrasing. Consider mixing up your media and including video presentation links that give candidates a better glimpse of what your company is really all about. Although they may not tell you so, today’s job seekers need to assess your organization’s “vibes” as much as they do its pay and benefits packages, and videos are a great visual way to showcase its unique character.

Emphasize Inclusive Values and Check for Biased Language 

Particularly in the nonprofit world, where being socially ethical is a core goal of many organizations, it’s essential to include more about your policies for equity and inclusion than the usual boilerplate “equal opportunity” statements found elsewhere. Feature your philosophies prominently in your ad rather than tacking them on at the end as an afterthought. Use gender-neutral pronouns and job titles, and solicit feedback from your current employees to help eliminate language that might be interpreted as expressing bias.

Be Accurate and Transparent: Don’t Waste the Candidate’s Time

Be sure to list a job title that accurately describes the position you need to fill; embellishing it will discourage qualified talent and waste the time of overqualified applicants who are expecting higher pay and status than you’re offering. Include all key competencies needed to do the job (with any nice-to-haves clearly labeled as such). In the interest of reciprocity, however, you should also be up front about pay, benefits, and perks, tangible and otherwise—especially those that are likely to be most attractive to candidates.

Indicate a Clear, Fuss-Free Way To Apply

There’s nothing worse than a job ad that doesn’t specify how to apply for the role, asks for too many time-intensive application materials, or doesn’t list the name and title of the hiring manager to whom the cover letter should be addressed. (This becomes especially frustrating for applicants if the hiring manager is also not listed on your organization’s “team” web page). Make it as simple as possible for prospective candidates to apply: include a link to a user-friendly application form and provide essential contact information, including for applicant questions. 

Don’t Ask for References Up Front

Although this is a common practice, it can be inconsiderate to both referees and applicants. Applicants, who may be applying for several positions at once, are bound by good etiquette to limit access to their referees as much as possible, since those people are doing them a favor. Ideally, applicants will only want their referee to be contacted if they are certain they want the job—which is all but impossible to know at the initial application level. Asking for references up front disempowers applicants to protect invaluable human resources from getting “spammed.”

Keep in mind, too, that although society often assumes as much, an applicant’s previous employer or supervisor may not necessarily be a competent or ethical referee. This puts many job seekers at an unjust (and stressful) disadvantage. Some well-qualified and highly motivated candidates may have other “reference gaps” through no fault of their own. Allow applicants to choose their own referees, and ask for references only when you’ve narrowed finalists down to a short list. Better yet, consider skipping this step and conducting in-depth interviews instead.

When you write a thoughtful, considerate, and inviting job ad, you’ll attract intelligent, courteous, and motivated candidates for the job. Precisely because so many other companies get important things wrong in this regard, the people you hire will be all the more excited to join yours. If your ad is a true reflection of your nonprofit’s culture, they’ll sing your praises on employer review sites and social media, boosting your future recruiting power. The best part? They’ll also repay your efforts with loyalty and productivity of, well, mythical proportions.

Want more tips like these? Get them here.

This spotlighted blog post is courtesy of Nonprofit Megaphone

Tips for Retaining Nonprofit Employees

Nonprofit executive directors and hiring managers have notoriously over-packed schedules and to-do lists, so if you’re blissfully relieved to cross off your “fill x role” task once a candidate has accepted your job offer, it’s certainly understandable. However, it’s wise to think of that box as being temporarily checked—and to implement strategies to ensure it stays that way for as long as possible. For many reasons, employee retention should be just as integral to pursuing your mission as fundraising and providing core services are.

As of 2022, the average turnover for nonprofit organizations was approximately 19%, whereas the average all-industry turnover rate was 12%. If you’d like to improve your organization’s statistics, but the prospect of designing a comprehensive employee retention plan sounds more overwhelming than organizing your next major fundraiser, don’t worry. Employee retention strategies can be simple, budget-friendly, and fine-tuned over time. In fact, they’re not unlike the practices you already have in place for retaining donors.

If your donors provide the fuel your organization runs on, then your employees are your engine, wheels, and everything in between (your drivetrain, to be exact). We all know that extending the life and quality of your vehicle requires regular tune-ups, repairs, and general TLC. Here’s how to take optimal care of the most valuable (and expensive) parts of your vehicle: your staff. 

How To Retain Employees—The Smart Way

Start by Addressing the Greatest Risks

Although you will ultimately want to tailor your retention strategies to your organization’s specific concerns, it can be helpful to start with a high-level view of the factors behind national nonprofit employee retention rate and turnover statistics. The single greatest reason for voluntary turnover is lack of opportunity for growth at 59.7%, inadequate compensation and benefits is second at 47.6%, and discomfort or dissatisfaction with an organization or its culture is third at 26.2%. 

Consider prioritizing these areas first as you work through your retention plan, but use your own information-gathering strategies to prevent or address other potential pain points. Exit interviews can certainly be a useful tool in this regard, but in a more preventive sense, it’s a good idea to solicit feedback in the form of anonymous surveys, routine “check-ins,” and other communication tools. But once you’ve determined your areas to address, what are the best ways to, well, address them?

Make Your Employees Feel Valued Where It Counts

In many ways, designing an effective employee retention plan boils down to tried-and-true methods of making your employees feel valued. You already have a system for keeping your donors coming back, and you can deploy a similar one for your workers. Here are some ways to address the biggest risk factors for turnover.

Create Pathways for Growth (Vertical and Lateral)

Given that nonprofits have a reputation for doing more with less, there’s no such thing as a redundant or superfluous employee. But you can’t expect to hold onto people skilled at running in a variety of gears if your workers feel like they’ve hit a career cul-de-sac. Even if you can’t offer them a promotion (vertical growth) in the near future, you can still make sure they’re learning and growing in their existing roles (lateral growth). Here are a few ways you can offer opportunities for career development:

• Promote staff internally where possible
• Provide professional development and training opportunities
• Offer challenges and “stretch” assignments
• Provide mentorship
• Send employees to industry events (like conferences and workshops)
• Pay for field-relevant certifications

Maximize Compensation and Benefits (Get Creative!)

It’s important to offer your employees a competitive salary and benefits package, since this is the second most-cited reason for voluntary turnover. Don’t let a tight budget be a roadblock, however: smaller tangible and significant intangible benefits can go a long way toward making your organization a truly desirable place to work. Here are some ways to show your workers that you’re committed to their welfare:

• Review your budget for ways to increase compensation and traditional benefits; remember to calculate your turnover costs and keep these in mind as you weigh your options
• Consider cost-of-living adjustments in pay
• If your organization can’t afford pay increases right now, offer commissions or bonuses instead
• Increase paid sick, family, or holiday leave allowances
• Ease work/life “pain points” by offering things like on-site childcare, a flexible work schedule (in person or from home), public transit passes, or stipends to help cover other personal or work-related expenses

Promote a Healthy Work Culture

Good company culture doesn’t happen by accident, nor will it thrive with good intentions that are haphazardly applied. Since your workplace culture directly affects how your employees feel about working for your organization, it’s essential to cultivate one in a deliberate and thoughtful way. Think about ways not only to prevent interpersonal conflicts, but to help employees feel comfortable, trusted, valued, and engaged as a team—and in all things, be consistent. Here are a few ways to do this:

• Develop, communicate, and demonstrate your organization’s core values (“walk the walk”)
• Be transparent with employees about organization goals, policies, decisions, and budget
• Solicit feedback often; include workers in major and minor decision-making whenever possible
• Champion equity and inclusiveness
• Have a zero-tolerance policy for bullying, harassment, and other toxic or criminal workplace behavior

Other Ways To Prevent Turnover

If you have open lines of communication in your organization that your employees feel comfortable using, you’ll be alerted to other potential turnover risk factors, and you can get ahead of them before they escalate. Here are some simple, low-cost ideas: 

• Provide recognition and let staff know when their hard work has had a concrete positive impact on your organization
• Get to know your employees as individuals
• Make time for fun and feel-good activities (e.g. happy hours, lunches, movie screenings, contests, etc. based on shared team preferences rather than arbitrary top-down ideas)
• Find ways to promote work/life balance in deed, not just in lip service
• Facilitate opportunities for interpersonal and team bonding

You can’t prevent all turnover, of course, voluntary or otherwise, but you can certainly reduce it by implementing thoughtful strategies for employee retention. When you do this, you’ll accomplish much more than simply keeping your best people for longer. You’ll increase loyalty and productivity, reach more goals, enjoy more growth, and create an enjoyable work environment. 

As the word gets out that your organization is a great place to work, you can attract (and keep!) more top-notch talent, ensuring the engine of your nonprofit is firing on all cylinders. After all, who doesn’t want an upgraded ride?

Want more tips like these? Get them here.